ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Host Rancho Cotate (3-1) got a first half to remember from sprint star turned dual threat quarterback Jacob Pruitt to built 19-7 first quarter and 39-7 halftime leads en route to a 39-20 victory over Freedom-Oakley that wasn’t quite as close as the score indicates.
Pruitt, a 5-11, 171-pound senior that has also excelled for the Cougars track team in the 100 and 200, was 8-of-10 passing in the first half for 178 yards and three TDs, and he also had 12 carries for 169 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Rancho Cotate head coach Gehrig Hotaling had indicated at halftime that Pruitt likely would not go deep into the second half with his team up by 32, but that decision was taken out of his hands when on his third touch of the second half, a 3-yard run, Pruitt slightly tweaked his ankle. His final numbers were 8-of-11 passing for 178 yards and 14 carries for 184 yards rushing. His passing TDs were 10, 57 and seven yards, and his rushing scores came on runs of 69, 17 and 17 yards.
It was the fourth consecutive week Pruitt has rushed for over 180 yards and the second straight week he’s had both triple-digit passing and rushing. Last week in a 48-34 win on the road in Sacramento he passed for 206 yards and three TDs and rushed for 181 yards and three scores. So far this season Pruitt had passed for 494 yards and seven TDs with one interception, and he’s rushed for 718 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“Jacob Pruitt is on another level,” Hotaling remarked.
Rancho Cotate took the opening kickoff and marched 79 yards in 11 plays culminating in a 10-yard TD pass to senior wide receiver Nate Rodriguez. The snap was bad on the PAT and Rancho Cotate had a 6-0 lead.
The lead, however, was short lived.
Freedom got the ball on its own 38 after the kickoff and on its first play used some chicanery when junior quarterback Myles Hunt pitched the ball to senior Taylor Edmond and he rolled out and threw a halfback option pass to a wide open Travis May and the senior wide receiver took it 62-yards to the house. With a successful Pat the Patriots had a 7-6 lead.
That lead would be the last for Freedom and it had an even shorter life span than that of the Cougars.
Rancho Cotate returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 31 and only needed one play to score itself. Pruitt called his own number and went up the gut, and once he got passed the line of scrimmage he exploded past helpless defenders with his 10.8 in the 100 speed to pay dirt. His run on the conversion failed but Freedom had 12-7 lead it would never relinquish.
After senior Tyler Schach got the first of two interceptions off Hunt, Pruitt wasted no time padding the lead. After he ran twice for 15 and seven yards, and senior Geovanny Ortiz had an 11-yard run, Pruitt aired it out to Gio Martinez and the junior wide receiver raced 57-yards to the house. The PAT made it 19-7 Cougars.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Pruitt led Rancho Cotate on a 50-yard scoring drive. On the eighth play, his 17-yard TD run, where he once again left defenders flat-footed gave the Cougars a 26-7 lead.
On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Schach got his second pick and that set up another 17-yard TD run by Pruitt to make it 32-7 Cougars.
The defense forced another three-and-out and Pruitt and Martinez hooked up again to pretty much seal things. On the first play of the series he found Martinez on a 55-yard reception. Then, after two incomplete passes, his first two after seven straight completions to start the game, he connected with Martinez on a 7-yard TD pass and it was 39-7 with seconds remaining in the half.
Martinez finished with three receptions for 119 yards and two TDs, all in the first half.
Freedom took advantage of a Rancho Cotate defense that seemed to relax to start the second half and the Falcons went 73-yards in 13-plays with two fourth down conversions, including fourth-and-goal when Edmond scored on a 1-yard plunge.
With Pruitt out the Rancho Cotate offense struggled but the defense didn’t yield another score until there was 1:51 left and the game was long over when Hunt scored the game’s final tally on a 5-yard keeper.
“I feel like if we play we did in the first half that is championship level football,” Hotaling said. “The goal now is to put it together for four quarters.”
Besides Pruitt getting a bit dinged up the Cougars were without primary running back and senior Tupotu Poueu Hale who was out with a sore shoulder. The good news is Rancho Cotate has a bye this week before hosting Pleasant Valley-Chico in two weeks.
“It’s nice to go into a bye right now,” Hotaling said. “We can heal up and get ready for Pleasant Valley and league.”
After Pleasant Valley the Cougars open North Bay League – Oak Division in three weeks on the road in Sebastopol at Analy.
Freedom (0-4) also has a bye and will look to get into the win column in two weeks on the road in El Sobrante at De Anza.
